Time Flows On
by a-violet-rabbit
Summary: self indulgent drabbles based on my personal headcanons about how characters would act as parents. it'll be updated sporadically, and feel free to leave comments about how you think I may or may not be portraying it wrong.
1. Chapter 1

The sound of Noxus Prime was far from foreign to her, even though she was less than ten years old. The clanging of metal, the arguing late at night, the utter silence when all were sleeping. The cycle was almost unnerving.

She still stayed up, however, for now it was something stranger- her father had permitted her to accompany a war band, so long as he was present, to witness Noxian strength in its finest form. Reading and hearing of powerful deeds was one thing- watching them happen was another, and she had insisted that she learn how to fight like a Noxian instead of being restricted to politics, regardless of her handicap.

In a sense, it had brought her respect. In another, some grieved their loss before it had happened.

She opened the window of the cart, looking at the sky as the sound of horse and soldier footsteps merged and rhymed. She reached with her hands, pulling her legs up to tuck under her as she leaned against it, watching the changing night. She was so entranced that she barely noticed her father riding higher up the convoy until it was far too late.

"Dahlia, you should be sleeping. You cannot focus if you are not rested."

"Father, I have never been out of the capital. Please- I will pay extra attention in the morning, even take notes!"

"Notes are useless in combat."

"... if you are truly sure I should rest, I will, father. I just wanted to watch the sky where no torch nor fire could dim the stars."

"... leave your window open. We must be fearless, not stupid, my child- and fighting without rest is on the latter spectrum of things."

"Have you been reading, father? You don't usually speak so eloquently."

"And a child doesn't taunt their father very often," retorted the general, earning a snort of laughter from his daughter. She shifted, sprawling out upon her makeshift bed of a cot once more as her father cast a glance inside.

He had a plan for his daughter, once she was old enough to hold a blade while restricted. If one could fight with a handicap, then they would only be more fearsome when that handicap was removed; the daughter of Darius would never be someone whose name would be cast as a joke. For now, however, she was young; he felt a need to preserve her as long as he could, give her the time to learn that he did not have. She was already strong.

Little did she know that he saw her as a leader, a child that could turn Noxus against itself if she wished. One capable of leading without fetters to magic to survive, one capable of fighting with strength she earned.

He wouldn't live to see the day. He knew it would come anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

Shen was not the best of fathers. He knew this. It did not change the fact his children were polar opposites of one another, and antagonize each other to the point of fighting.

Soah, his beloved daughter, was meek and mild; she was always quiet, reserved, patient in her studies. She would never step too far, nor ever lag behind, and would often be overridden by her peers because of it.

Hyeong, his son, was quite the opposite. He pushed himself so hard he'd often be patched up by his sister, and would defend her at the drop of a coin- and proceed to berate her at the drop of another. He refused to fall behind, vying to be the leader at all times.

It irritated their father simply because they were so similar to how he had been.

Now, however, he was searching for Soah- she had disappeared on accident when trying to run away from her scolding sibling, using a technique she wasn't quite familiar with. Shen himself knew where she was.

The problem was getting there.

After nearly an hour of combing through brush and trees, the Eye stumbled upon the grove his daughter had taken to years ago. A small lake rested in the center, and that was where she stood, knee deep in clear waters. Akali would skin her for ruining her leather.

She was crying.

"Soah, that is not befitting a ninja."

"Why can't I be like you?"

The question stunned him, the soft words torn apart by upset and sadness as she turned to face him. She had been crying for at least an hour- since he began searching. He strode forward, being careful as he touched water, and knelt in front of his daughter once he had reached her.

"Elaborate."

"I want to be like you. Feel nothing, or hide it when I do, strong, quiet, a leader. I keep falling behind my brother- I'm scared I won't be able to be a Kinkou because I'm so… so…"

"... Soah, would you believe me if I told you I was once even worse than you are now?"

Now it was her turn to be staggered. She gave him the most curious expression, eyes showing confusion that her face didn't reflect.

"You know Zed. The man I have been fighting since before you were born. When we were trainees, I was soft spoken. I excelled at all of my work and obeyed without question. I felt as though if I stood out, pushed too hard, did anything my father didn't approve of, he would punish me. To this day, I regret it."

"You… you regret…?"

"If it weren't for me taking my father's side, Jhin would have died. Zed would still be on the path of light. I could have changed everything, and instead I did nothing. But you- you are not me, Soah. You never will be. If you are chosen to fill my shoes, you will fill them as you must, as the balance needs you to. As will your brother, if it is him. You cannot be as I am. You must be you."

"But I am weak-"

"Soah, my daughter, my lotus bloom- you are strong. In the ways of ki, in the way of studies, in the way of justice. Hyeong is strong in the art of combat, of judgement, of control. Neither of you have grown enough to stay in balance. You will discover your own path as you grow, and should you fill my shoes, or he, you will be strong."

"... do you promise, father?"

The tone was balancing between calm and scared. He knew this tone. He let a breath go, closing his eyes for a long moment; his eyes opened once again to look his daughter in her own, no longer gold, but a plain brown.

"As your father, I promise."

"... thank you, father."

"Tell no one I let go," he chuckled, letting the light return. "Your aunt might make an opening for my position earlier than anticipated."

That earned him a laugh, something he rarely heard from her.

It reminded him of her mother.

Something inside him felt content.


End file.
